Roaming South America

Cali, Colombia

March 2, 2024

Cali, or more correctly Santiago de Cali, is a city of more than two million people. By the land area of the city it is the secondbiggest city in Colombia, but by the population it is the third biggest. Cali was founded in July of 1536, that makes Cali 488 years old. The firstchurch built here, in 1538, is still standing and in use. Next to and attached to the church is the a house that is now used as an archeologicalmuseum. There are photos in the photo album.

Cali has also been the sporting center for Colombia, it was the host city for the 1971 Pan American Games, the 1992 World Wrestling Championships, the 2013 edition of the World Games, the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 2014, the World Youth Championships in Athletics in 2015 as well as the inaugural Junior Pan American Games in 2021 and the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships.

The history of Cali dates back to the arrival of Sebastián de Belalcázar. He came to the American continent in the third voyage made by Columbus in 1498. In 1532, he joined Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Perú. In 1534, Belalcázar left Pizarro's expedition and went to Quito, Ecuador. Later in his search of El Dorado he entered the territory of what is now Colombia, where he founded the cities of Pasto and Popayán. Belalcázar founded Santiago de Cali on 25 July 1536. He was a busy man. In 1793, Cali had a population of around6500 but about 1100 of those were slaves. Santiago de Cali was strategically positioned for trade, centrally located in relation to the mining regions of Antioquia, Chocó, and Popayán. The first trail for mules and horses between Santiago de Cali and the port of Buenaventura(on the Pacific coast) was completed during this colonial period. In the 19th century Cali became the capital of the Valle del Cauca department(province/state), and had a population of around 20,000. The economy was based on livestock, sugar cane, panela (pure ground sugar cane), cheese, and gold mined in the Pacific. The industrial and financial sectors were growing and becoming more important to the city.

The climate of Cali varies because of the mountains. The Andes in this area range from an average of 2000 meters (about 6500 ft)up to an average of 4000 meters (13,000 feet). That means the northwest part of the city is drier than the southwest. Cali itself sits at about 1000meters (about 3000 feet). About 80 kilometers west is the Pacific coast and the city of Buenaventura which is one of the wettest cities in the world.But the mountains put Cali in a rain shadow so it receives significantly less rain. The average low temperature is 17.4° C (63° F) and the average high is 30.5° C (87° F). The only seasons here are the wet and dry seasons.

Cali has many parks throughout the city, which is nice, but like all of the city, there is a lot of litter everywhere. This surprised. After living in Roldanillo and visiting many pueblos this place is not pleasant. I must say I am not at all impressed by Cali. Cali has historical center and another neighborhood, but again, litter everywhere! The rivers that run through the city have litter all along the banks and floating in the water. Now that I've seen there is no reason for me to ever want to see it again.